The present invention relates to a sole structure able to be associated to an upper of a shoe.
Nowadays, several known shoes present on the market have multiple systems and methods for aerating the interior part of the shoe.
Some known shoes partially achieved the assigned task by means of appropriate holes, for instance obtained on the upper.
Such solutions have the considerable disadvantage of allowing water infiltration inside the shoe.
The use, in correspondence with such holes, of possible layers of materials which are transpiring and impermeable at the same time does not completely solve the problem of achieving a good aeration of the shoe, since the exchange of air between the interior of the shoe and the environment is very limited.
In other known shoes, appropriate ducts are employed, for instance obtained on the upper surface of the sole, and advantageously communicating with the exterior, so that the air can be circulated in said ducts and reach the foot passing through an appropriate transpiring arch support, in contact with said sole.
The main disadvantage of this solution also consists in the possible infiltration of water in the interior of the shoe, which takes place through the ducts.
A further known shoe is constituted by an upper comprising a transpiring arch support, positioned superiorly to an impermeable sole.
Between said sole and the arch support is positioned an aerating device constituted by an air elastically deformable tank, through a first one-way valve, with an air diffuser element positioned in proximity to the metatarsus area and appropriately holed, in order to distribute air within the upper.
The tank is also connected to a second check valve positioned, for instance, laterally to the sole, able to draw air from the exterior.
The second check valve has a sufficiently small internal diameter to prevent water from entering, thereby guaranteeing impermeability.
This device functions while the user walks, since at each step, when the heel bears down on the ground, the tank is compressed, thereby sending air to the diffuser element.
After the foot is raised, the elastically deformable tank returns to its shape, thereby creating a vacuum that draws air from the exterior, through the second check valve.
The main drawback of this known shoe consists of the fact that it presents considerable construction complexity, having multiple delicate mechanisms in an area, the sole, that usually undergoes numerous strong stresses, with the risk that the aerating device may be subject to malfunctions or breakage.
Another disadvantage of this shoe stems from the high global cost, essentially due to the constructive complexity of the aeration device, to the work processes to be executed and to the need to assemble the various components of the sole at the end.
The main aim of the present invention therefore is to solve the technical problems highlighted above, eliminating the drawbacks of the aforementioned prior art and thus devising an invention which allows to obtain a shoe that allows a good aspiration through the sole, whilst insuring a safe and effective impermeability.
Within the scope of the task set out above, another important aim is to obtain an invention that allows to achieve the specified aim by means of a simple and rugged aeration mechanism, thereby avoiding possible breakage or malfunctions.
Yet another important aim is to obtain an invention that achieves the specified aim without sacrificing the resistance and aesthetic quality of the shoe.
Not the least aim is to obtain an invention that is structurally simple, whilst also having low costs of production.
The aforementioned task and aims, as well as others that will become more readily apparent farther on, are achieved by a sole structure as described in the claims that follow.